My Catchphrases

Friday, 1 June 2012

Musical Moments: Song of the Month: June: Chosen by Hannah Harrington

It is with great pleasure I welcome Hannah Harrington to Book Angel Booktopia today not only do we have a fabulous song for the Song of the Month but Hannah has also written a terrific post about what music means to her. As you probably already know I adore music, its a part of me and I relate a lot of personal experiences to certain songs. I love his post I hope you do too.

This song is listed on Jake’s playlist to Harper at the end of the book. Of all the songs I included or referred to in Saving June, this is the one I think most embodies the book, especially Harper’s relationship with Jake. The lyrics as I interpret them are about a romantic relationship between two people who get things wrong at times, but ultimately understand one another more clearly than anyone else. I think the tone of the song’s melody also fits the story—it’s moody and emotive, but at the same time very hopeful.

Music and ME by Hannah Harrington

Music has always been a big part of my life, and it was especially a major influence as a teenager. A lot of my identity felt wrapped up in the music I enjoyed and even in the music I didn't like-- just having those opinions and arguing or sharing with friends; it was both a personal and a communal interest. I have very little musical ability of my own, so I just appreciate it from a listener's perspective. Music, like writing or any other art form, is something to connect to and meant to invoke emotions in the audience. So I think when it comes to an influence on my writing, it had to do with the aspect of music where you listen to a song and think, "Wow, this really made me feel something," and you want to put words to what that feeling is.

I'm always listening to an eclectic mix of music. My current playlist includes the Beastie Boys, Jay-Z, Simon & Garfunkel, Amy Winehouse, Sufjan Stevens, The Ting Tings, and The Roots.

All of the songs included in the novel are ones I love, and it was difficult to narrow it down to three playlists! For June's playlist, I tried to put in songs I thought someone would pick if they were trying to introduce someone to that kind of music-- some of the more known hits and catchy tunes-- but also songs that might have had some meaning for her character. The "Say My Name" playlist was a little more random than the others, and for that one I mostly just picked my favorite songs that include names in the title. The last playlist-- the one Jake creates for Harper-- was probably the hardest; I went through and put in some of the songs that had had meaning throughout the story, and I also added a few that weren't outright mentioned but that I felt really fit Harper's story, especially from Jake's perspective. On top of that, I tried to do what Jake had mentioned about making the playlist "flow" and build up and peak before coming back down, so the music transitions aren't too jarring.

The Saving June Play-List is my favourite it really does go so well when you know the whole story <3